Couch 161: The Hexagonal Pyramidal Couch

Well they just moved h off the observation floor up to the top (5th) floor and took him off the IV meds, and now he's taking oral meds only. They're going to keep him Tonite still and if all goes well he goes home tomorrow. So relieved!! Thanks you guys for your support the last couple days.

I know this is small in the grand scheme of things but this week I had two sessions with R after three months of once a week- but i just felt uncomfortable, like I'd already talked about everything I needed to on Tuesday and today was just random fragmented ramblings.

R has always traditionally been a blank slate. At first I really was okay with that, but now as time has gone on I just really want to know him, not the therapist him.For the previous two sessions I've told him that I loved him and how much he means to me, but today I asked if he liked Marmite- ( it's this product we have in the UK made from yeast extract. The slogan is you either love it or hate it). And he didn't reply. I did ask more than once. but it was just met with neutral expressions which irritates me as the whole relationship doesn't seem natural.

Therapy isnt done at an emotional distance - it IS very intimate. But just for that one hour. So there are physical limitations put in place to keep things from getting confusing. Thats why stuff like hugging is such a slippery slope. Or in this case outside contact?

Cake, I think it's really weird that your T responded so awkwardly to your asking if he likes marmite. He couldn't even manage to do the typical thing of asking why you were interested etc (which would have been annoying enough in itself)?

This is a smiley especially for him:

Whew. Did they say what the deal was with the sweating/fever?

That's good. I hope it settles down enough for him to go home. How is your son dealing with this?

Hi. I lurk here.
I took my 14 y.o son to his first t appt today. So different to see depression from the outside. Son asked me to join him in the session - to help him get started. I'm not yet sure about this t (e.g., t was conflating SH and sui ideation, and referred to birth parents as son's parents - although he's been my son since birth) but my son is eager to go back. Son even chose am 7am start time for his next appt!

I've just realized that filing taxes when your spouse is in prison and there is a no-contact order is going to be troublesome. How am I supposed to get him to sign the return? How am I supposed to know if he's earned any money in there? If I file as married filing separately, it's going to cost me a lot of money. I really don't need this right now. Any suggestions? Can I contact him through a lawyer? Google hasn't been super helpful so far.

So, maybe it's just that I'm a good teasing target for therapists...Since T was teasing me about a thing or two today...Maybe we've just hit the "comfortable enough to tease each other" stage of the therapeutic relationship.

Example: I was wearing distressed jeans with a couple holes in them (not showing much skin, around knees--they were the only ones I had clean!) When I sat down, T said, "Have things gotten so bad that there are holes in your jeans?" I replied, "I'm just being stylish!" Then commented how D would say, "There's a hole in Mommy's pants!" when I'd wear them.

We also sort of made fun of MC at one point (just a joke about his height--both he and T are short, but T is maybe 2 inches taller than MC).

Hey, all. Hugs and other things as appropriate.

Oh missed you too, hows things?

Sometimes i am not ok with the teasing as i am unsure whether i am being mocked, T was quite shocked to leaern i thought this as he said would never mock someone due to the nature of the work. Sometimes i am unsure of the purpose of the teasing, is he trying to tell me something. Like last session he jokingly said i must be familar after 7 years that i am to bring things to the table. I think its my communication style not everyone has seen my questions as questions but more as statement. I think i lack that Australian thingy inflection that linguist talk about

My dog had minor surgery, but still had to be put under, and I sent a video of his whimpering self to my therapist who showed so much sympathy for him that I got jealous. Of my dog. So yeah, I am crushing it in the confidence department.

The intimacy can be very one-sided. In which case, I don't feel it as intimacy.

Oooh, i think that might be a "male" perspective. That being the prober is acceptable, but being the probee is not. Which isnt exactly what you said, but how mutual is intimacy usually?